swissmiss is a design blog and studio run by Tina Roth Eisenberg, a 'swiss designer gone NYC'.

On Frank Gehry Being Fired

“The recent news that the developer Forest City Ratner had scrapped Frank Gehry’s design for a Nets [basketball] arena in central Brooklyn is not just a blow to the art of architecture. It is a shameful betrayal of the public trust, one that should enrage all those who care about this city… A new design by the firm Ellerbe Becket [is a] colossal, spiritless box, it would fit more comfortably in a cornfield than at one of the busiest intersections of a vibrant metropolis. Its low-budget, no-frills design embodies the crass, bottom-line mentality that puts personal profit above the public good. If it is ever built, it will create a black hole in the heart of a vital neighborhood.”

Oh blather. Gehry’s a starchitect — he and his ilk should stick to designing trinkets and not important civic structures. I’d comment on the new design, but haven’t seen it yet. It’s not a shame to lose Gehry — but it would be a shame if the final design didn’t foster neighborhood practice, didn’t reflect the history of the space, or didn’t inspire the players and spectators it housed. Gehry was great on the last one, but sucked rocks on the first two.

The bottom line was that this project is now too large and too much for the economy in NYC. Let’s not forget that the scope of the project was too large for the proposed neighborhood. I think that the only people who want the team in Brooklyn at this point is Ratner himself.

The infrastructure of the area isn’t adequate in terms of transportation, parking, sewer or power. The low income apartments that were promised are gone from the designs. And the buildings have changed so much since being approved that the project no longer resembles itself. This is all not mentioning the amount of extra money Ratner wants the city to pony up on top of helping him evict businesses and people from their building using eminent domain.

I would imagine that there are more people who wish for this project for fail where it is than to see any of Frank Gehry’s work in their neighborhood.